Both series were "re-written" in the 1950s to update them and make them more "politically correct" - the original books had very negative and stereotypical portrayals of black and chinese characters, for example - but were drastically shortened and the plots simplified in the process, it being apparently felt that, by the mid 1950s, teenagers would be put off by 300-page books. Most "fans" consider the "original" versions of the books to be enormously superior to the re-writes. I suspect that it would have been the re-writes that you would have read.

Interesting... thanks for the info. So... anyway to get the originals? I would be interested in reading one just to compare.

It was also very controversial in South Africa believe it or not. The draconian censorship board that guarded the morals of the country banned all material deemed to be unsavory or that posed a risk to the countries security. I am not sure which of those 2 categories Black Beauty was deemed to represent but apparently the censor board never read the book and mistakenly believed it to be the tale of a black beauty queen. In apartheid South Africa that was enough to get the book banned until the board were informed of their error. Apparently beautiful black horses were acceptable but beautiful black women were not. Oh yes, You just have to love the "good old days".

I've said it before and I'm saying it again - I'm lucky to live in the U.S.A. I have a problem with censorship and would probably have spent my life in jail if I'd been born somewhere else. Hearing your story makes me realize how much I take "freedom of speech" for granted. I hope things have gotten better in the last decade or so for you.

Interesting... thanks for the info. So... anyway to get the originals? I would be interested in reading one just to compare.

BOb

A company called "Applewood Books" reprinted excellent fascimilies of the original versions of the first dozen or so "Hardy Boys" books a few years ago. I'm not sure if they're still in print, but they're easy to get 2nd hand on Amazon, etc.

A company called "Applewood Books" reprinted excellent fascimilies of the original versions of the first dozen or so "Hardy Boys" books a few years ago. I'm not sure if they're still in print, but they're easy to get 2nd hand on Amazon, etc.

To follow up, I've checked and they're out of print, but easy enough to get. See, for example, here.

A company called "Applewood Books" reprinted excellent fascimilies of the original versions of the first dozen or so "Hardy Boys" books a few years ago. I'm not sure if they're still in print, but they're easy to get 2nd hand on Amazon, etc.

Intersting document here that list original authors and re-write authors.

I was a big fan of The Lemonade Trick, by Scott Corbett, and Space Cat, by Ruthven Todd. Both were illustrated by Paul Galdone, who seems to have illustrated my childhood. During my pre-teen years, I became a big fan of Henry Gregor Felsen, who wrote several books about teenagers, cars, and the dangers of driving badly. They had titles like Hot Rod, Road Rocket, and Crash Club, to name just a few. They were weird mixtures of juvenalia and gore. The other book that comes to mind is Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, which holds up better than the rest of the aforementioned books.

I just remembered one of my first books, given to me for Christmas by Mum & Dad (I only believed in Santa Claus insofar as believing in Santa Claus cheered my parents, which thus cheered me, which thus meant we were all happy and I got more presents). Anyway, the book was Rusty, the Nimble Numbat. Oh, look, ebay has one for sale: